In 398 BCE, the Romans were still enmeshed in their siege at Veii. Whilst the Romans waited, worrying portents started to appear. What did they all mean? Episode 156 – Kidnapped! The most concerning portent was a sudden increase in the levels of the lake in the Alban Woods. It was positively spooky. An embassy was despatched to visit the Delphic Oracle so that the mystery could be unravelled. Lake Albano, courtesy of Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulconologia . Whilst the ambassadors were on the road, some casual conversation between enemies led to a revelation. An old man from Veii seemed to have the answers the Romans needed, and unfortunately this led to him being kidnapped and interrogated. How else could the Romans get the information? They want the truth! The old man and the Oracle both indicated that the Romans needed to figure out a way to draw off the water from the lake. Then, and only then, Veii would fall, and the Romans would be victorious. Sounds simple! Just make the water go away, Rome. Things to listen out for: LOTS of patricians in power Dangerous shortages of Etruscan soothsayers Sneaky Roman youths Road trips! An owl suddenly covering for Igor Our Players for 398 BCE Military Tribunes with Consular Power L. Valerius L. f. P. n. Potitus (Pat) Cos. 392, Mil. Tr. c.p. 414, 406, 403, 401 M. Valerius M. f. M. n. Lactucinus Maximus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c.p. 395 M. Furius L. f. Sp. n. Camillus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c.p. 401, 394, 386, 384, 381 L. Furius L. f. Sp. n. Medullinus (Pat) Cos. 413, 409. Mil. Tr. c.p. 407, 405, 397, 295, 394. 391 Q. Servilius Q. f. P. n. Fidenas (Pat) Mil. Tr. 402, 395, 390, 388, 386 Q. Sulpicius Ser. f. Se. n. Camerinus Cornutus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c.p. 402 Legates, Ambassadors (Cn. Cornelius) Cossus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c.p. 406, 404, 401 (P.) Licinius (Calvus Esquilinus) Mil. Tr. c.p. 400, 396 (L.) Valerius Potitus (Pat) Cos. 392, Mil. Tr. c.p. 414, 406, 403, 401, 398 OR (C.) Valerius Potitus (Volusus) (Pat) Cos. 410, Mil. Tr. c.p. 415, 404 (K.) Fabius Ambustus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c.p. 410, 404, 401, 395, 309? OR (Num.) Fabius Ambustus (Pat) Our Sources Dr Rad reads Livy, 5.14-15. Dr G reads Dionysius of Halicarnassus 12.10-33; Cicero, On Divination , 1.44; Diodorus Siculus, 14.82; Plutarch, Life of Camillus 2.3-4.4. Bradley, G. 2020. Early Rome to 290 BC (Edinburgh University Press). Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Volume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association) Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis) Forsythe, G. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War (University of California Press) Lomas, Kathryn (2018). The rise of Rome. History of the Ancient World. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. doi : 10.4159/9780674919938 . ISBN 978-0-674-65965-0 . S2CID 239349186 . Ogilvie, R. M. 1965. A Commentary on Livy: Books 1-5 (Clarendon Press). Raaflaub, K. A. 2006. Social struggles in archaic Rome: new perspectives on the conflict of the orders (2 nd ed). (Wiley). Smith, C. 2019. ‘Furius Camillus and Veii’, in Taboli, J., Cerasuolo, O. (eds.) Veii (University of Texas Press), 219-224. Young, J. 1875. ‘The Alban Lake’ The Athenaeum no. 2505, pp 575-576. Sound Credits Our music is composed by the amazing Bettina Joy de Guzman . Automated Transcript Dr Rad 0:15 Music. Welcome to the partial historians. Dr G 0:18 We explore all the details of ancient Rome, Dr Rad 0:23 everything from political scandals, the love affairs, the battles waged and when citizens turn against each other, I'm Dr Rad. Dr G 0:33 And I'm Dr G. We consider Rome as the Romans saw it, by reading different authors from the ancient past and comparing their stories. Dr Rad 0:44 Join us as we trace the journey of Rome from the founding of the city. Dr G 0:55 Hello and welcome to a brand new episode of the partial historians I am Dr G, and I am Dr rad, and we are tracing Rome's history from the foundation of the city. And in this episode, we're going to be looking at 398 BCE, so we're right in the early period of the fourth century Dr Rad 1:18 that we are Dr G. But before we dive into 398 Can we get a quick recap on what happened in 399 Dr G 1:24 It was either a hot summer, a severe snowstorm, or both. Well, I Dr Rad 1:29 think the snowstorm actually happened in 400 Dr G 1:32 Well, so you say. Dr Rad 1:34 So I say indeed, although Wait, how do Italian winters work? Wait, when is a winter? Oh, actually, that would make sense. It would span two years. Sorry, being in the southern hemisphere, it took me a moment to figure Dr G 1:46 that out, yes. And the thing is that the source material doesn't kind of line up in any other way. So, like that fragment can't come in earlier than what it already did, or at least not as far as I can tell. So I think there are ways in which Livy and Dionysius might be a little bit out of sync with ea
